Sparrow Katy J.

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Sparrow
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Katy J.
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  • Article
    Limited contribution of ancient methane to surface waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea shelf
    (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2018-01-17) Sparrow, Katy J. ; Kessler, John D. ; Southon, John R. ; Garcia-Tigreros, Fenix ; Schreiner, Kathryn M. ; Ruppel, Carolyn D. ; Miller, John B. ; Lehman, Scott J. ; Xu, Xiaomei
    In response to warming climate, methane can be released to Arctic Ocean sediment and waters from thawing subsea permafrost and decomposing methane hydrates. However, it is unknown whether methane derived from this sediment storehouse of frozen ancient carbon reaches the atmosphere. We quantified the fraction of methane derived from ancient sources in shelf waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea, a region that has both permafrost and methane hydrates and is experiencing significant warming. Although the radiocarbon-methane analyses indicate that ancient carbon is being mobilized and emitted as methane into shelf bottom waters, surprisingly, we find that methane in surface waters is principally derived from modern-aged carbon. We report that at and beyond approximately the 30-m isobath, ancient sources that dominate in deep waters contribute, at most, 10 ± 3% of the surface water methane. These results suggest that even if there is a heightened liberation of ancient carbon–sourced methane as climate change proceeds, oceanic oxidation and dispersion processes can strongly limit its emission to the atmosphere.
  • Article
    Ideas and perspectives: a strategic assessment of methane and nitrous oxide measurements in the marine environment
    (European Geosciences Union, 2020-11-26) Wilson, Samuel T. ; Al-Haj, Alia N. ; Bourbonnais, Annie ; Frey, Claudia ; Fulweiler, Robinson W. ; Kessler, John D. ; Marchant, Hannah K. ; Milucka, Jana ; Ray, Nicholas E. ; Suntharalingam, Parvadha ; Thornton, Brett F. ; Upstill-Goddard, Robert C. ; Weber, Thomas S. ; Arévalo-Martínez, Damian L. ; Bange, Hermann W. ; Benway, Heather M. ; Bianchi, Daniele ; Borges, Alberto V. ; Chang, Bonnie X. ; Crill, Patrick M. ; del Valle, Daniela A. ; Farías, Laura ; Joye, Samantha B. ; Kock, Annette ; Labidi, Jabrane ; Manning, Cara C. ; Pohlman, John W. ; Rehder, Gregor ; Sparrow, Katy J. ; Tortell, Philippe D. ; Treude, Tina ; Valentine, David L. ; Ward, Bess B. ; Yang, Simon ; Yurganov, Leonid N.
    In the current era of rapid climate change, accurate characterization of climate-relevant gas dynamics – namely production, consumption, and net emissions – is required for all biomes, especially those ecosystems most susceptible to the impact of change. Marine environments include regions that act as net sources or sinks for numerous climate-active trace gases including methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The temporal and spatial distributions of CH4 and N2O are controlled by the interaction of complex biogeochemical and physical processes. To evaluate and quantify how these mechanisms affect marine CH4 and N2O cycling requires a combination of traditional scientific disciplines including oceanography, microbiology, and numerical modeling. Fundamental to these efforts is ensuring that the datasets produced by independent scientists are comparable and interoperable. Equally critical is transparent communication within the research community about the technical improvements required to increase our collective understanding of marine CH4 and N2O. A workshop sponsored by Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) was organized to enhance dialogue and collaborations pertaining to marine CH4 and N2O. Here, we summarize the outcomes from the workshop to describe the challenges and opportunities for near-future CH4 and N2O research in the marine environment.